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New Leaders Bring New Hope to ADAPT
By Mike Ervin In the fall of 2005, ADAPT protesters in wheelchairs showed up unannounced on Capitol Hill and demanded, in part, that members of Congress sponsor and push forward the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act, better known as MiCASSA. Some of the protesters, members of Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, occupied offices of key Congressional leaders, including that of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). After some fruitless negotiation with Pelosi’s staff, those who refused to leave upon police orders were hauled away, as were those in all the other offices. To those in the ADAPT movement who were in Washington, D.C., that day, it is a powerful image. Following the recent mid-term elections, many people assume that, because Democrats now control the House and Senate, bogged-down legislation such as MiCASSA will finally move forward. But is it an accurate assumption? Pelosi was targeted that day because she had neither sponsored nor expressed much public interest in advancing MiCASSA. Until 2001, neither President Bill Clinton nor the Democratic National Committee had voiced much support for the legislation, first introduced by then-Speaker of the House Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in 1997. (The DNC endorsed the bill four years later.) MiCASSA amends Title XIX of the Social Security Act, which requires states to develop more options for people with disabilities who choose to receive long-term care support funded by Medicaid in their homes and communities rather than in institutions. Its chief sponsors are Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.). The bottom line is that Democrats, even liberal Democrats, are not necessarily champions of the disability legislative agenda. “Getting our issues mentioned when the House Democrats have listed their goals and priorities has been an uphill battle,” said Andy Imparato, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). So what will happen now that the Democrats control the legislative branch? “I think the shift will enable the disability advocacy community to spend less time trying to fight off proposals that we don't like, such as cuts in funding for affordable housing, cuts in Medicaid, privatizing Social Security, etc.,” he said. “Many of the items on our affirmative agenda will still require bi-partisan support and White House support, given the closely divided Congress, so our task continues to be to build bi-partisan champions and raise the profile of our legislative priorities amid competing agendas.” A major competing agenda is that of some labor unions, said Bob Kafka, national organizer of ADAPT. According to Kafka, opposition to MiCASSA by unions, particularly the American Association of State, County and Municipal Employees, has been largely responsible for the lukewarm reception MiCASSA has received from Congressional leaders. “Will the support of the unions make the Dems like deer in a headlight because of union jobs in nursing homes and other institutions?” Kafka asked. “The Democrats talk a lot about health-care reform. Do they intend to take on the institutional bias in Medicaid?” Imparato said that Pelosi staffer Tom Manatos has had regular meetings and conference calls with disability advocates. “He has tried to be responsive to community priorities and concerns,” he said. Kafka said ADAPT leaders met with Manatos just before the election. “It was a real positive meeting,” Kafka said. “But we keep challenging her office to focus on long-term care reform. We shall see what happens.” Calls to Manatos to determine Pelosi’s disability priorities were not returned. Kafka said he worries that new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is not a MiCASSA co-sponsor. Said Imparato: “When Senator Reid became the Democratic leader in the Senate, he had a staff person reach out to national disability organizations. I think he welcomes the opportunity to engage with our community on policy, judicial nominations and other issues.” Another bill from the previous Congress that Imparato places high on the AAPD priority list is the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act. The CLASS Act, whose chief sponsor is Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), would create a national long-term care insurance program supported by voluntary payroll deductions. Those who pay into it for five years could then receive up to $100 per day to pay for attendant services in their homes. The idea is to create another option besides Medicaid to pay for long-term care so those who need it don’t have to be impoverished. Kafka said ADAPT supports the bill as long as it supplements and doesn’t supplant MiCASSA. “ADAPT is working with Kennedy's staff to ensure (that) low-income Medicaid folks don't get left out if this bill starts to move,” he said. Kafka said he also wants to see Congress take serious action on the availability of affordable accessible housing by adopting ADAPT’s Access Across America plan, which in essence would make a large number of Section 8 housing vouchers (subsidies) available to people with disabilities transitioning out of or trying to avoid entering institutions. Imparato said that passage of the Inclusive Home Design Act would also create much more accessible housing. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), would require all housing built with federal financial assistance to be “visitable.” This means that there would have to be at least one entrance with no steps, doorways at least 32 inches wide, and a usable bathroom on the main floor. Housing legislation passes through the House Financial Services Committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, to be led by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). “Both are strong advocates for affordable, accessible housing,” Imparato said. MiCASSA and the CLASS Act would pass through the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to be chaired by Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and the Senate Finance Committee, to be headed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.). Kafka said he is concerned that neither has co-sponsored MiCASSA nor has been outspoken about the need to change the institutional bias in long-term care. Imparato said he is encouraged that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We are less likely to see disability-rights opponents like Jeffrey Sutton being confirmed for lifetime judicial nominations,” he said. Imparato said he is also delighted to see Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), a passionate leader in the battle to pass the ADA, become Senate majority leader. “Hoyer has been one of our greatest champions in the House,” he said. Hoyer is the lead Democratic sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act, which Imparato said is vitally important. It would address U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have significantly narrowed the definition of disability by reaffirming the broad definition originally intended by Congress. The defeat of Republican Sen. Mike DeWine in Ohio could be a setback, however, Imparato said. “He raised a number of disability-rights issues during the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Justices Roberts and Alito, and he co-sponsored the CLASS Act. One of our challenges in this new environment is to continue to cultivate Republican champions” such as MiCASSA co-sponsors Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania in the Senate and John Shimkus of Illinois in the House, as well as Wisconsin’s Jim Sensenbrenner, House co-sponsor of the ADA Restoration Act. “For our community to advance our legislative agenda, we need to continue to cultivate their leadership and avoid appearing partisan,” Imparato said. “We also need to be constantly reaching out for new champions on both sides of the aisle.” ***** Mike Ervin is a member of ADAPT, a group that works for the civil rights of people with disabilities. PLEASE NOTE: PORTIONS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION! |
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Copyright © 2007 by ILCHV |
